Another body recovered from Lagos school building collapse

Another body has been recovered from the rubble of a collapsed three-storey building in Lagos State, taking the death toll to nine.

“We worked through the night and one body was recovered,” the south-west coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, said on Thursday.

The building, which contained a primary school, at 63 Massey Street, Ita Faaji, Lagos Island, came crashing down around 10:00 a.m.

The school occupied the first and second floors, while the ground floor and third storey were residential.

Thirty-seven persons, mostly pupils, were rescued, according to figures released by Farinloye on Wednesday.

“There is a pregnant woman trapped in the building. We learnt she is now dead. A teacher also made a telephone call that she was trapped alongside 15 children. She asked rescuers to pour down water to keep them from suffocating,” said Yemisi Bankole, deputy head of Itafaaji market.

An eyewitness Abdulazeez Elegushi told The Guardian on Wednesday that the building was marked for demolition last year by the state government and that a quit notice was given to the occupants of the building.

The General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) Olalekan Shodeinde confirmed that the building was indeed marked for demolition.

Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, who visited the scene also said: “As you can see, some of the buildings have been marked for demolition. We get resistance from landlords.”

President Muhammadu Buhari also expressed sadness over the incident, even as he charged the state government to stem the tide of building collapse.

In a statement by his spokesman Femi Adesina, he said, “It touches one to lose precious lives in any kind of mishap, particularly those so young and tender. May God grant everyone affected by this sad incident fortitude and succour.”